Draft-operated scraper



Patented Oct. 4, 1927.-

UN'IT ED"STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE 'F. POOLE, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GOODMAN MANUFACTITR- ING- COMPANY,'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DRAFT-OPERATED SCRAPER.

Application filed December 17; 1923, Serial No. 681,045. Renewed March 28, '1927.

vThis invention relates to improvements in draft operated scrapers used for gathering and transporting loose material and has for its} principal object to producean improved form of scraper capable of being initially deflected from the normal path of movement to gather loose material distributed over relatively wide areas. A further object is to provide an improved method of gathering coal orth e like from a. mine room. More specifically the present invention consists in providing a scraper with movable side walls, pivotally connected at the rearend of the scraper, such scraperbeing reciprocably movable by means of a head rope and a tail'rope, in the present instance the tail rope having positive connection at one side of the scraper and a detachable connection at the rear end of the scraper, so that the scraper may be drawn by the tail rope during a portion of its rearward move ment with suchropedetac'hed from its rearmost connection, whereby the scraper will be automatically opened and directed later ally to gather the 'loose material at one side of itsnormal path of rearward movement.

"Details ofthe invention may be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: I v

Figure 1 is a rear view in perspective of a scraper constructed in accordance with my invention; I a i I Figure*2"isa plan view of the scraper showing itin closed position in full" lines and in partially opened position in dotted lines" a c Figure 3 is a detail ofthe detachable connectionat therear end of the scraper;

Figures 4,5, 6 and 1'7 are views illustrating a typical installation of the scraper in a mine and showing the scraper in four different positions during'its loading operation.

Referring now to details, the scraper comprises a body made up of two side walls 10, 11, preferably diverging from the rear to the front end thereof, although other forms and shapes of scraper body may be provided, if desired. The scraper is preferably bottomless, the walls 10 and 11 being provided with inwardly extending flanges 12, 12, along their lower' margins to form cutting edges for engaging the material to be gathered. The walls 10 and 11 are pivotally connected by a hinge, which may be of any suitable form,,for instance, it may comprise a pair of eyes 13, 13 on one wall 10, and an intermediate eye 14 on the" other well 11, w th a hinge pin 15 of any approved pat-j tern extending therethi'ough. As shown herein the side walls 10, 11 are hinged-centrally of the rear end although under some conditions it maybe desirable to vary the. position of the hinged connection toward one side of the scraper. i i r I Means are provided for limiting the movement of the scraper sides toward each other. In the forinshown this means oomprisesfa pair of. telescoping members. 16 and 17", pivotally connected respectively near theforward ends of the'scraper walls. As shown herein themember 16 comprises a bar and is movable longitudinally ina hollow pipe forming the member 17. The arrangement is such that thefree end of the pipe 17 en gages'astop 18 on the bar to limit the in ward movement of the walls 10 and'll.

Draft means for the scraper comprises a head rope 20 connected to the forward end of the scraper by suitablemeans,,such as the terminals 21, 21, secured respectively to the forward ends of the side wallslO and 11, and a tail rope'22movably connected tothe rear end 'ofthe'scrapenj I I I As shown herein the tail rope connection comprises a suit-able eye 23 attached to one side wall intermediate its ends, as for instance to the wall 11. w The free end of the tail rope-22 is connected to this eye by any suitable means such as a link 24'. A hook 25 is mounted at the rear end of the scraper as herein shown being integral with the intermediate eye'145 forming the pivotal connec tion bet-ween the twowall portions. This hook preferably opens downwardly, as shown in Figure 3, although it is obvious that this hook may "be secured to another portion of the scraper at the rear end thereof, as desired. The arrangement is such that the tail rope 22 is engaged in the hook '25 in which position the scraper will be pulled rearwardly in alignment with its longitudinal axis. Or when desired, the tail rope may be detached from this hook so as to pull the scraper directly from the connection at the side thereof, in which case the scraper will be pulled at an angle to its longitudinal axis.-

The use a and operation of the scraper above described will be understood by reference to Figures-4, 5, 6 and 7, illustrating its use in a mineroom. In thisinstance the scraper is being used for gathering loose material adjacent the working face, indicated at 30. A side wall or rib 31 meets the working face 30 at an angle, forming a corner as shown in these figures. In Figure 4 a pile of loose material has been deposited on the floor adjacent the working face, the toe or forward edge of this pile being indicated at 32. The portion of the loose material adjacent the side wall 81 is preferably clear-ed away for a purpose that will presently'appear. The scraper is installed for reciprocable movement in the usual manner along the working face as well known to those familiar with mining methods. The tall rope 22 is trained over a sheave or guide 34 fixed by a ]Z1Cl{ or similar means againsttheside wall or rib 31 and adjacent the working face 30 substantially as shown in the diagram.

In the loading operation the scraper is pulled re'arwardly by thetail rope which is engaged underneath the hook 25, in which position the scraper will be pulled rearwardly substantially in alignment with its longitudinal axis. As the scraper ap proaches the corner of the room the tail rope may be disengaged from the hook 25 whereby further draft on the scraper will cause the latter toswing about at an angle to its normal course of rearward movement as shown in Figure5. Simultaneously this movement tends to swing the scraper side 10 pivotally on its hinge into an open position. In .Figure 5 the scraper is partially open while in Figure 6 thescraperis shown in its farthest position adjacent the sheave 34 in which positionthe tension on the tail rope is released. It will be observed that the hinged portions 10 and 11 are fully spread apart so that the head rope terminals 21, 21 aresubstantially in a straight line to limit further movement of the walls. The scraper is thus automatically brought into position to initially engage the pile of loose material while directed toward the working face. The initial forward movement is commenced by placing tension on the. head rope 20. 'It will be observed that the initial draft on the head rope will be exerted directly on the inner hinged wall 11 so that the movement 7 r of the scraper will be initially deflected from its normal path of forward movement due to the greater resistance of the material engaged by the inner wall 10. Thus the scraper not only is-automaticall'y directed toward the working face before its initial forward movement, but also has a tendency to hug the working face when it gets under way. When the load is gathered it is pulled forwardly to the point of discharge in the usualmanner and then returned for another load, whereupon the operation above 'de scribed is repeated. I

Although I have shown and'described one form in which my invention maybe embodied, it will be understood that the construction and arrangement of the' parts may be alteredwithout departing from thespirit and scope of my invention. I do not therefore, wish to be understood as limiting my self to thespecific constructionillustrated herein excepting as specificallylimited' rear ends to move laterally, a head rope flexibly connected to-the forward ends of said walls, and a tail rope having permanent connection with said scraper at one side thereof and a detachable connection at the rear end thereof. a l v Signed at Chicago, in thecountyfof Cook and State of Illinois, this 13th day cember, A. D. 1923.

CLARENCE F. roots;

of Def 

